Julian R. Starr

Julian R. Starr is a Full Professor in the Department of Biology at the University of Ottawa, affiliated with the Faculty of Science. His research focuses on systematics, phylogenetics, and biodiversity of vascular plants, particularly the Cyperaceae (sedge) family. He leads the lab at the Center for Advanced Research in Environmental Genomics (CRAGE), employing both morphological/anatomical techniques and modern molecular tools like next-generation DNA sequencing.

Research interests include molecular systematics, phylogeny, evolutionary patterns, and taxonomic classification of plants. His work emphasizes resolving evolutionary relationships in challenging plant groups using genomic and morphological approaches. Recent studies address rapid radiations in angiosperms, biogeographic histories of sedges, and taxonomic revisions of understudied taxa.

Publications span topics from discovering new species in Vietnam to analyzing global sedge distributions, with methodological innovations in phylogenomics. No scientific awards are explicitly mentioned, but his contributions reflect advanced expertise in plant systematics. He advises students through lab opportunities at CRAGE and collaborates internationally on biodiversity projects.